


Driving Lessons

by drarrymehome



Series: Draco Discovers Muggle Things [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Draco Malfoy is Clueless About Muggle Things, Driving, M/M, One Shot, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24128431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drarrymehome/pseuds/drarrymehome
Summary: Draco asked Harry to teach him how to drive. Of course, just about everything goes wrong.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Series: Draco Discovers Muggle Things [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740991
Comments: 4
Kudos: 81





	Driving Lessons

“Ok, good. Now you need to dip the clutch again and change into third.” They were driving down the country roads on a particularly warm spring day. Draco had been very against the idea of a car, but Harry really wanted one. Of course, when Harry ignored Draco completely and went and bought one, Draco couldn’t handle not partaking in the fun.

“Where the fuck is third?!” His first driving lesson was going well.

Trying to avoid Draco panicking behind the wheel of a hulking great piece of metal and fuel, Harry kept his voice light and calm. “In the middle, at the front. It’s the easiest, ok? Just let it out of gear and push it forward and it’ll go right into third.” Draco actually had pretty good lane discipline and was steady enough with the accelerator, but he was having a hard time with the gears and braking.

Draco’s left hand let go of the wheel to reach for the gearstick when the car made a loud grinding noise. “What the fuck was that?!” Harry’s palms were sweating from a mixture of nerves and the inability to take control of the vehicle, which was veering off to the right while Draco shrieked.

“It’s nothing, you just let the clutch up to soon. Remember, you have to keep it pressed to the floor and you can’t lift your foot until you’ve finished changing the gear. And keep your eyes on the road!” Harry was convinced they were going to end up in a hedgerow, and they were already at least ten miles from the nearest town. Maybe he should have let Draco have a go when they were closer to civilisation and help would arrive sooner. He really should have made sure there was a repair kit in the back. Just in case.

Things went smoothly after that. Harry had Draco drive in a long loop to avoid having to teach him to turn around – he definitely wasn’t ready for that on his first attempt. There were picking up a little speed, but not too much, and Harry was enjoying watching the trees go by. There were occasional sheep in some of the fields they passed, sometimes rows of thick hedges, other times low fences with little steps over. Harry felt rather lucky to live so close to nature, even if he was only enjoying it from inside the car.

When things were going right, Draco was quite competent and confident. It was only when things went badly…

“Why is this so complicated? It’s like patting my head and rubbing my stomach at the same time! This is why wizards apparate!” He was struggling to change from third to fourth.

“You were the one who said you wanted to learn.” Harry pointed out. After his third attempt, Draco managed to get the car in gear, but by the time he’d done so they were approaching a bend.

“Only because you kept going on and on about how much fun it is! This is a nightmare!”

“You’ll get the hang of it; it just takes practise. Now you’re going to have to slow down. You probably need to change down to second. If you have to, you can jump straight from fourth to second. Remember, second is next to fourth behind first.” That was the point when things really went wrong.

“THAT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL!” Draco screeched at the top of his voice. Instead of letting the gearstick sit in neutral and trying again, Draco started ramming it in the wrong direction.

Harry had been observing the sky. The blue was turning slowly grey and cloud had started looming over them. It seemed Harry would have to take over again soon, although prising Draco out of the driver’s seat would be a challenge in itself.

When Draco finally figured out how to get back to second gear, the grinding noise came again. Except this time, it was much louder and was accompanied by a loud clunk. That was when the heavens opened.

“Oh for the love of- of course it had to bloody rain too.” Draco complained, getting more exasperated by the second.

“That’s ok, cars have wipers. If you turn that stick there-” Harry pointed to a lever at the side of the steering wheel, “yeah, that one…”

“HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!” The wipers started abruptly just as the rain came on heavy. They started swiping furiously across the windscreen while the car kept making the horrible grinding noise. Harry had to admit, even as a seasoned driver he was worried.

“They’re the wipers. They’re just clearing the water off the windscreen so you can see better.” He was amazed at how calm his voice sounded because he most definitely didn’t feel calm.

“What? And having two massive black things swiping across my field of vision every few seconds is better?!”

“I think maybe you should slow down a bit, it’s getting a little dark with all this cloud and it’s only your first try. Remember, you have to change down the gears too. It works exactly the same way.”

“It made that noise again!”

“I told you, don’t lift the-”

“The clutch is still dipped!”

“Oh.” To Harry’s utter dismay, the car lurched to a stop and died. It was eerily silent besides the sound of the rain hammering at the windows. Harry glanced over at Draco who was white as a sheet and clutching onto the steering wheel for dear life.

“Shit.” Harry let his head hit the headrest as he blew out a slow breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. “The clutch is absolutely fucked.” Suddenly, Draco was undoing his seatbelt and launching himself out of the car and into the rain. Although you weren’t supposed to stay inside a broken-down car, Harry didn’t want him to catch a cold.

In the few seconds it took Harry to get out of the car after Draco, he was already soaked to the bone. The rain was getting heavier and heavier by the minute. Even though it was a relatively warm day, this was still England, and the rainwater was freezing. When he saw Harry emerge from the passenger’s seat, Draco turned on him.

“Well…? You’re a wizard. Fix it!”

“There isn’t a spell for fixing clutches you idiot! You know magic doesn’t work on muggle tech!” Harry pulled his phone out of his pocket and of course, like every clichéd muggle film he had ever seen, he had no signal. So much for calling a breakdown service.

“Don’t call me an idiot, this was your idea!” Harry couldn’t tell if Draco was in a rage or hysterical, but either way it wasn’t good.

“Yeah, well, I’m sure as hell regretting it now!” He snapped back. Putting his phone back in his pocket, he took his wand out and, checking around to make sure no one would see, which they wouldn’t because they were in the middle of nowhere, he conjured a patronus asking Hermione to send them help. As soon as he had done so he ushered both of them back into the car and out of the rain. Draco was shivering as he slid back into the driver’s seat, his hair matted to his forehead. He looked small and scared and Harry felt terrible for putting him in this position.

“You need to keep warm,” he said, gesturing with his hand. Draco frowned at him before looking around for a way to move without leaving the car. There was nothing for it but for him to clamber over the centre console, which meant he was right on top of Harry.

Their faces were centimetres apart. Even through the cold and dampness of their clothes Harry could feel Draco’s body heat. He could also feel his cheeks heating up under Draco’s gaze and their compromising position. To make matters immeasurably worse, Draco didn’t particularly like the way his wet clothes were clinging to him, so he kept wriggling his bum.

“Draco-” Harry choked, “You’re- you’re going to have to stop doing that.” Draco froze immediately.

“Oh god. That’s not? I didn’t? Shit.” Draco stared at him in utter horror for a minute before Harry burst out laughing. It was so utterly ridiculous; Harry sitting in the passenger seat, the seat itself set all the way back, with a sopping wet Draco Malfoy sitting on top of him.

It was an old and worn out car, and the weight of the two of them on one seat was too much for the car to handle. The lumbar support in the back of the passenger seat gave way and flung Harry backwards, plastering Draco to him as he went.

Draco was as red as a cherry, but Harry couldn’t stop grinning.

“You planned this all along didn’t you, you bastard!” Draco tried to be indignant, but he had a sudden turn of shyness and hid his face in Harry’s chest. Harry wrapped his arms around him and let himself descend into a fit of laughter, despite the situation.

“I absolutely didn’t plan any of this, but I really wish I had.” Draco stayed quiet for a few minutes but then lifted his head off Harry’s chest and looked him straight in the eyes, his face perfectly composed.

“How long do you reckon we have before that patronus gets wherever its going?” Harry could see a devilishness glimmering in Draco’s eyes and for the first time Harry wondered if he might love this impossible man.

He smirked. “Long enough.”


End file.
